What to do in Rishikesh

sudzindia

I am going to Rishikesh primarily to imbibe the spiritual atmosphere of the place. What should i do there? Where to go?

I am not looking to pay in US$ for any meditation classes, but would love to meet some true loving, spiritual seekers and teachers (as opposed to the bogus swamis!) Help!

Actually i dont so much want to 'meet' people, but i want to learn anything that will make me a better spiritual person...

jyotirmoy

I wish you luck as what you are looking for is a very very rare commodity. Enjoy the nature, move a bit further up & see the Himalayas the sight of which has enriched many souls for ages. Knowledge & wisdom lurks at strange places may you stumble on them on your way.

SHIMLA

I agree fully with jyotirmoy. Enjoy nature! Knowledge and wisdom will hit you like a thunderbolt at unguarded moments!!

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sudzindia

Thank u, Jyotirmoy & Shimla. I am very excited about my trip to India, especially the scenic spots in the Himalayas. Even if i do not encounter any enlightened person who can put me on the right path, I still do hope, like you said, to enjoy some time of sacred communion with nature....beholding those very same mountain peaks which were once seen by spiritual giants of India like Swami Vivekananda and even the maharishis thousands of years ago..
It's a very strange thought. That it is this same earth, this same mountains on which have walked all these people of yday. This very same place which have inspired them...

jyotirmoy

For me the Himalayas of Uttaranchal have a special meaning very similar to what you have said, wish you a very pleasant & memorable trip.

TimMakins

My suggestion is that you forget Rishikesh. What you seek is not to be found there. The ashrams are full of westerners who don't know what they want. The town, down river, is full of Indians who would rather the onslaught of westerners, often in hugely inappropriate clothing, weren't there at all.

Such places encourage the belief in a quick and simple fix to life - Its easy to pretend to yourself you have found 'the answer' by spending money or wearing different clothes, repeating some words or singing some songs, especially when encouraged by the false 'masters' who only follow their bank accounts. But at the end of the day, enlightenment comes slowly, and very quietly.

If you want to see spirituality, go to nearby Haridwar - one of the oldest cities on the planet, and full of spirituality. It may not be your type of spirituality, but still, you will finding it fascinating and deep. Thousands of ordinary people go there - talk to a few of them and ask about their journey through life. Try and help a couple of people every day with some small task.

Once you have had enough of this mass of humanity, go to the mountains, sit quietly and think about your experiences. You will soon find that the best teacher is already inside you, if you only give yourself the time to listen.

Tim in Ireland.

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karl

one good thing you can do in rishikesh is walk up the ganga to Neelkanth. the walk takes about 5 hours and there is a very charming shiva temple on top of a hill.
for "spirituality" i think rishikesh is as good or as bad as any other place.
best k

sudzindia

dude, i cant walk for 5 horus and 5 hours back..thats 10 whole hours !hahaha. Im not ur typical trekker...

Tim, thanks for ur note. I will be stopping by Haridwar definitely on the way up to Rishikesh and some other mountains towns in Kumaon...

jyotipg

its not easy to find spirituality that u r looking for..
In Rishikesh, you may find spirituality on sale like a whole packaged stuff.

If need to get a feel of the spirituality in india, then you have to stay in one of the Ashrams in Haridar. One of such Ashram is the Shantikunj Ashram in Haridwar. Atend to their 9 days camp.. Its all avaliable free of cost.. but you strictly need to follow the rules and diet of the Ashram.

For more info check www. http://www.awgp.org/

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mridula

I would say just walk around, soak the atmosphere, click the photos of the temples, sit quiety on the bank of Ganges. By the way a few kilometers away (by jeep) there is a nice KMVN guesthouse at a place called Kaudiala. It is very peaceful and right on the bank of the ganges. Nice if you are looking for a quite place.

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mridula

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himadventures

I am with TimMAKINS !

I do not recommend staying or finding something in RISHIKESH unless you are a diehard SPIRITUAL experience looking guy.

Go further in himalayas and stay anywhere you like...but leave places which are crowded and very very popular.

passingby

bullshit you guys, I love Rishikesh!
It is the most spiritual place in India for a foreigner. if you are a beginner in spirituality, Rishikesh is the place to go to. if you are more advance then yeah go to Haridwar or go to the caves in the Himalayas with the babas. I do not advise you to go to Haridwar as a beginer since Haridwar is a very advance place for meditation and yoga. I found the yoga teachers in Rishikesh ( and I have tried 4 places for yoga) to be really hard. I can only immagine how hard the yoga can be in Haridwar where the real yogis go to.
in Rishikeh, many ashrams welcome foreigners to learn about the spirituality and yoga. I belive it is the right place to start your spiritual quest. I have learnt a lot about yoga and other spiritual groups in Rishikesh and I still think that I have missed a great deal on spirituality in Rishikesh. there is a lot you can get out of that place. there are seminars and retreats with the great yogi masters and spiritual masters which all have ashrams in rishikesh or in the nearby region. it is hard to tell you which one is right or wrong. it all depends on what you are into.
do you know about the art of living course? it is by shri shri ravi shankar. you can find out on internet more about it. the ashram is in rishikesh.
so many other great spiritual leaders of India have ashrams in rishikesh, as I have said it all depends on what you are into.
all the ashrams in Rishikesh give lectures on spirituality and yoga courses. most of the yoga courses in ashrams are hard.
but try the shivanandan ashram, apperantly they have some easier yoga courses, but they teach separatly men and women, I don't think that should be a problem.
also, there are so many fantastic and cheap books you can get in Rishikesh to learn about spirituality. and for 5 kg of books, it only costs you 120 rps to send them home by sea from the post office (you have to go to the post office where it is really cheap). you also have great restaurants like chotiwalla and other ones.
I think Rishikesh is a fantastic place and I won't allow anybody else to tell me otherwise. I plan to come back to India to Rishikesh and stay 2 to 3 months next time. there is so much to learn from that place.

himadventures

Dear passingby !

You do not have to express your anger like that. I expressed what I felt..it was not intended to hurt you or I was trying to market something...

See now...how different I feel and think about ASHRAMS..

1. I do not think that ASHRAMS and all these NEO-RELIGIOUS lines helps mankind in anyway. I still see lot od hatred and classifications on planet earth.

2. Man has killed man in name of GOD..and PSEUDO-RELIGIOUS factors were always behind that...be it CRUSADERS or be it NAZI's or be it 1947 in NORTH INDIA.

3. Looking inside...meditations...vipassa na..kundlini yoga or whatever..I feel that there is no need to get into A/C rooms and paying huge money for getting reservation of peace. Peace is always inside...FISH IN THE SEA IS NEVER THIRSTY !

4. Ashrams in RISHIKESH had been a good markets...not from now but from the day..BIG SHOTS and VIP's lands up there in serach of PEACE. This all starts from coming of BEATLES.

5. Yes- from your point of view...all that you expressed is very very right...but I also see other side of the coin and that is..

(a) Peace is for sale there-if you can not pay...you can not get peace.
(b) Who is right and who is wrong is tough to get into.
(c) You said shri shri ravishankar ...but I strongly feel that BABA RAMDEV is more authentic than anyone till date present in RISHIKESH.

ONCE AGAIN: Nothing personal to hurt you or make you angry...I just wrote my views about what I think about certain thing. If it still hurts you or makes you RED...apologies from my side !!

InsideTheOutdoors

Hey all ze people...
what I feel is that everyone obviously will have their own perceptions and beliefs, their own likes and dislikes about any place in India OR ELSEWHERE.... Even Heaven and Hell are no exceptions. So fraying each others nerves over something like personal opinion is pretty sad.....

Returning to SUDZINDIA's Q abt what 2 do in Rishikesh, I would support Jyotirmoy's post right above.....
I love Rishikesh...yes... even with the ashrams and all the westerners flocking to find their "life and its meaning" there.

SUDZ, just go out there, stay for a week or so.... and just be youself cos' in India, sometimes the experience itself finds you instead of the other way round. So be happy wherever you eventually decide to go and do what you've gotta do....simple.

On a lighter note, try going to the "rooftop cafe" (its called that!) after crossing the the Laxman Jhula from the Old Laxman Temple.... you are assured of some lovely mint tea for 5 bux and a lovely view of the Ganga from any of their chairs. GODDDDDD!!! I WANNA GO BACK!!!

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passingby

no worries himadventures, I wasn't angry. I guess I just wanted to write my point of view in a strong way.
I love the town of Rishikesh, Ram Jula/Laxma Jula.
India has been exploring the tourism a great deal. I don't condemn the ashrams in rishikesh for wanting to make money out of the tourists.
but the stay in an Asram is very cheap and the yoga lessons and the spirituality lessons are really cheap, almost nothing. the Asrams really don't charge the foreigners much. some of the ashrams go by donations, they have no fixed price, it is up to the tourists to give them money.
I guess this is how the spirituality works in India, they give you something you want and in return you give them something small to thank them. they are not asking for big prices like the hotels. the ashrams are really cheap.
now you tell me that the true Hindu religious people commited murders and crimes? I don't think so. maybe other religions tell you to kill, but as far as I know, if you are a true hindu with strong religious believes, you will be a peaceful meditating person, with a lot of compassion for the human beings. if you take into considerations the saints and the big yogis in India, they really just done a lot of good to the society on India and some of them even to the rest of the world.